Chapter 1.

Negi sat at the table and tried to relax. The staff meeting (which turned out to be a meeting of the mage teachers and others responsible for protecting the school), droned on and on as the headmaster rattled off a list of things going on around the school that had little or nothing to do with those gathered. Staff meetings tended to be boring when their weren't aliens trying to expose magic, demons invading to take Asuna captive, and/or ancient forces of evil bent on their destruction to deal with.

"So does anyone have any questions?" The headmaster asked finally.

"Yes, can we go now?" Evangeline complained from where she was slumped over the table in an overly dramatic pose of fatalistic boredom.

The headmaster grunted and everyone gratefully dismissed from the room.

"You could try being nicer to him you know. We really should keep abreast of things even when everything seems to have calmed down for a while." Negi said as he fell into step with his student/master.

Evangeline snorted at the comment and stared at the darkening sky as they walked. "You've got something brown on your nose boy. As far as you're sticking your nose up the headmaster's rear I'd say it's probably..."

"SEN-SEI!!!!!!" Nodoka screamed as she came barreling up the sidewalk to tackle Negi headlong.

"Nodoka-san! What's wrong?" Negi said disentangling himself from his frightened pupil.

"It's Yue and the others! Something terrible has happened!" The young librarian cried. "We need you at Library Island right away!"

Negi was already running with Evangeline in tow before the girl had even finished her sentence. "What is it Nodoka-san? Is everyone alright? I haven't got my cards on me to use telepathy."

"Oh sensei, it's horrible. We went to your room looking for you and found Konoka holding on to that book that was being delivered to you. We told her to bring it with us to Library Island, but then when we got there everything went crazy." Nodoka wailed as the sky began to open up with a steady rain.

Negi was ready to swear under his breath, there was no telling what the girls had gotten themselves into this time. Evangeline was openly laughing. "Well it beats watching pick pockets around the campus."

Negi looked up to see Library Island seem to materialize into view from the mist and the rain ahead. "I should have skipped the meeting and waited for the book myself." Negi berated himself. "Grandfather said the Book of Phalerum was dangerous."

The sound of skidding feet caused Negi to turn around and see Eva rooted in place with a haunted expression on her face. "Did you say 'The Book of Phalerum'?"

Negi slowed, but Nodoka pulled on his arm relentlessly. "Please sensei, I think Yue might have been hurt."

"Come on master, we don't have much time!" Negi shouted back.

"Negi, wait! You don't know..." Evangeline called out to him as Negi crossed the threshold and disappeared into the main hall of the library.


Negi awoke with a start. He quickly looked around the strange room in confusion before jumping out of bed to realize he was only wearing his boxers. "What's going on here?!"

Negi ran to the door and threw it open. A short hallway stretched in either direction so he ran to one end looking for where Nodoka had gone. What he found instead was Evangeline. The older persona of the undying mage was standing at the sink washing her hands as the smell of tea filled the small kitchen. The older woman turned to see him standing there and smiled. "Honestly son, put some clothes on. You'll catch cold."

"Master?" The boy mage blurted in disbelief.

"Oh so you're calling me 'master' now? Don't tell me this is more of that 'mage' game you've been pretending." The whistle of the tea pot caused the woman to turn away from him. "Really son, you should try getting up this early on a weekday. Breakfast will be ready in a minute, and make sure your father is up."

Negi stepped back from the woman in disbelief when a strong hand clamped down over his head. "I'm already up sweetheart." Nagi said as he rubbed Negi's hair and sat down at the table still in his pajamas.

"Dad?"

"Last time I checked son." Nagi said happily as he took the tea Eva offered him. "You better get ready, Nodoka is coming over after breakfast and I seem to recall you said you were going to go with her to the park today. It isn't gentlemanly to break your word to young ladies son."

In shock Negi walked back to the room he woke up in and looked around. Inside were some outfits his size, and posters depicting mages covering the walls. This had gone on long enough. "Mea Virga"

Negi held out his hand waiting for his staff to fly to his hand, but it never appeared. "Would you please stop pretending to be a mage son?" Nagi's voice could be heard from the kitchen. "You should be more realistic and stop being so childish."

Confused the boy mage quickly dressed and returned to the kitchen wondering what was going on. I was there at Library Island. I was following Nodoka when I yelled back at Evangeline and then I woke up in bed. Something must have happened, but what?

"Um, Mom? Where are we?" Negi asked slowly.

Evangeline stared at him for a moment and then glanced at his father. Nagi seemed concerned as well. "We're at home son. Aren't you feeling well?"

"Fine, fine!" Negi reassured the two of them. "I'm just a little... uneasy is all."

"Ah, the jitters. Perfectly understandable." Nagi sighed with relief. "I have to say I'm proud son. Not many boys your age get to date girls five years older than they are. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine."

Negi was about to say something else when the doorbell rang. Evangeline was up out of her seat in a flash. "Don't just sit there son. Go answer it. That's probably Nodoka."

Negi got up quickly and rushed to the door. He jerked it open to see Nodoka in one of her favorite little dresses looking at him shyly. "Hello, Negi."

"Nodoka-san, I am so glad to see you." The boy mage said quickly.

"I'm glad to see you too Negi." Nodoka said sweetly pecking him on the cheek. "I thought you were just going to start calling me Nodoka though. Are you ready to go to the park?"

"There you are Nodoka-chan." Eva said warmly as she came in carrying small basket. "Negi hasn't eaten yet, so I just put some extra buns and rice balls in here for the two of you."

"Thank you Mrs. Springfield." Nodoka said politely with a bow.

"You two run along now." Eva whispered into Negi's ear. "It's not often I get a day alone with your father."

Negi was blushing furiously as Nodoka took his arm and pulled him out of the house. As he walked he looked around at the small middle class neighborhood he was apparently supposed to be living in. "We're going to have such fun today."

"Nodoka-san, what is going on here. Don't you remember anything?" Negi asked the girl with him.

"Like what?" Nodoka asked innocently. "I'll admit I haven't thought of much else since you asked me out, but I don't think I've forgotten anything."

"Do you have your card on you?" Negi quickly asked.

"Sure." Nodoka said brightly pulling out a small card with her phone number on it. "I thought I gave you one already though, is that what I forgot?"

Negi just looked at her mystified. "Come here for just a moment."

Nodoka moved in close and Negi placed his hand to her forehead to read her mind. He'd done it once to Takamichi, but this time he felt nothing. "Why aren't my powers working?"

"Silly boy, are you playing around pretending to be a mage again?" Nodoka giggled. "You look cute when you do things like that."

"You hear that guys, he looks cute when he does stuff like that." A gruff voice said behind him.

Negi turned to see a larger boy about Nodoka's age sneering at the two of them with a couple of other boys walking behind him. "You better get out of here Daisuke."

"Or what, your new boyfriend is going to beat me up? Look at this shrimp, you need to be spending more time with a real man instead of playing with little mama's boys like him." Daisuke said menacingly.

"Better get behind me Nodoka-san." Negi instructed his ministra. He didn't know what was going on, but at least he still had his martial arts to fall back on for dealing with...

"Oof." Was all he managed as he dropped to his knees from the punch to his stomach. The shot had been slow, awkward, and quite frankly something one would expect... well, from an adolescent bully sucker punching a ten year old kid. The only problem was it had worked.

Negi sucked in air desperately as Nodoka wrapped her arms around him. "You better get out of here Daisuke before I scream."

"Come on guys." Daisuke said with a snort. "Let's let the babies go crying home to their mommies."

Negi watched as the older boys strutted away like they owned the neighborhood. "Why couldn't I stop him?"

"No one's a match for Daisuke Negi. That was very foolish getting between us like that. But I was very impressed at your bravery." Nodoka said sweetly.

Something's wrong here. I have no powers, I have no skills, what is going on here? "We need to find someplace private."

"There's a little cave down at the park." Nodoka said hopefully. "My... my older sister recommended it."

Negi looked at the heavily blushing girl and just sighed. It would have to do. "Let's go."

Nodoka led the boy mage to the park where all sorts of boys and girls their age were running around playing sports and having picnics together. "It's over there."

Negi followed his apparent girlfriend down a small incline into a shallow cave where a bench had been set up. Apparently it was a favorite spot for young people to enjoy themselves where prying eyes wouldn't notice. Nodoka sat down and patted the bench next to her for him to join her.

"No time for that now. I've got to find out what's blocking my powers." Negi said as he brushed past her to pick up a stick and manually start drawing a circle in the dirt. "Even if my powers are sealed, a magic circle is still a magic circle. Nodoka-san, will you please keep a look out?"

A sharp pain blurred Negi's vision for him as he fell face forward into the dirt. As he looked up with dirt all over his face he saw Nodoka standing over him with a large stick.

"I said to call me Nodoka!" The irate girl said stamping her foot. "Why won't you just let me make you HAPPY!"

Negi barely rolled aside as the girl struck the ground where he'd been laying. Negi jumped up and made a grab for the makeshift club and stood there struggling with the teenage girl. She can't really be this strong! What's wrong, is my strength gone too?

Negi finally wrestled the stick away from the girl as she dropped to her knees panting from the exertion. "He said the power would make you love me. He promised me. Sensei..."

Negi's head jerked up at the last word. Sensei... "There is no magical power that can make someone truly love another."

"No! You just aren't trying hard enough. It's that girl Yue isn't it. You love her more than you do me!" Nodoka shrieked in fury.

"What? Yue? Where is she?!" Negi demanded.

"I'll make sure she'll never get between us again!" Nodoka bellowed holding out her hands as a plumed quill magically appeared in her hands. "Once she's gone you'll have to love me."

"Nodoka-san, stop! What are you doing, where's Yue!" Negi pleaded.

"She's about to find herself in the belly of a dragon!" Nodoka crowed, holding up the quill. A sudden shriek filled the park as Negi recognized Yue's frightened voice.

"Now DIE!" Nodoka screamed.

The quill disappeared from Nodoka's grip as her arm fell limp to her side. Negi looked down in shock at his own hands still holding the branch he'd wrestled away from Nodoka. As her body fell limp at his feet his hands began to shake at the sight of her blood on the end of the stick. "My God, what have I done?"

Negi dropped to his hands and knees and crawled over to Nodoka's limp body and rolled her over. She was fortunately still alive. "Nodoka? What's going on?"

The girl's eyes fluttered open staring at Negi in horror. "You... You tried to kill me."

"Nodoka, I'm sorry, you were going to hurt Yue, I didn't know what else to do." Negi wailed to the girl.

Nodoka surged up from the ground in fury wrapping her hands around Negi's throat and sitting on his chest. "If I can't have you then NO ONE else will."

Negi struggled with the girl on top of him trying to make sense of all of it. Yue was Nodoka's best friend, why would she try to hurt her? Everything since he'd entered Library Island had been like some sort of illusion, but it was so real. Negi thought back to the previous summer when they'd gone to the magic world and what they had learned about it. Could this all be an illusion? If it was, then the person controlling it was currently on his chest trying to choke the life out of him.

Negi struggled with his assailant trying to get the upper hand, try as he might though he couldn't get her off him. "Just give up and die already. You'll never be able to escape this place as long as I'm alive. And then after you're gone I'll make a new Negi to love me."

Finally, before he could lose consciousness, the desperate young man reached up and wrapped his owns hands around the neck of the girl on top of him. Negi continued to struggle, squeezing for all he was worth until he was able to force his way up and pin the girl down. Nodoka looked up at him with hurt eyes, tears streaming down her face. "Please, sensei... I love you."

Negi closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "You are NOT my Nodoka."

Suddenly the pressure under his hands was gone and Negi was alone inside the shallow cave. In the distance he could hear children laughing and playing as if nothing had happened. "I just... I just strangled..."

Negi wrapped his arms around his knees and rocked back and forth looking around for the girl that had just been there. All he found was a pactio card, Haruna's pactio card.

A/N: A little dark, I know, but then Evil Nodoka is one I really despise.